Living Alone

A sliver of dawn pierced through the gaps of the narrow alley, reaching deep into Francis, which was shrouded in darkness, and illuminating Ning Xiuyuan's pale face.

His features were withered, his skin shriveled, and his body rigid. His life force had already been exhausted, and his breath was faint.

If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, everyone would have thought he was already dead.

Yet even on the verge of death, he still angrily uttered his final roar!!!

No, it was not a roar.

A faint stream of air escaped his mouth. It was even impossible to make out what he was saying.

In the indistinct sound, only his final few words could be heard:

—"Knowing renders it ineffective."

Was knowledge a supernatural power?

Even the strictest Mysticologist would probably find it difficult to classify knowledge as supernatural!

Thus, the mere fragment of information formed by those insignificant words did not stir even the slightest ripple in the Prohibition of the Supernatural that enveloped this land.

But it had dealt the loss-of-control entity a fatal blow!!!

"Shriek—"

A soul-seizing mental shockwave swept across half the city, splitting the clouds and shattering stone!

It was the loss-of-control entity's furious roar!

—Its heart had inexplicably been pierced by something invisible!

No!

It would be more accurate to say that the disease it had once deceived had returned.

Its mighty heart, matching its powerful body, pumped boiling blood like the strongest steam engine. Yet that penetrating wound caused the rich nutrients it had obtained from the four supernatural beings to leak out at an alarming rate.

The tentacled heads deprived of their blood supply rapidly withered as well.

It frantically drove its proliferative power, attempting to repair its heart.

But this place prohibited the supernatural!

"Shriek—"

Another mad scream rang out, yet it could neither vent its frenzy nor improve its current predicament.

Its limited consciousness abruptly pulled the tentacles from its prey and shoved them toward its own heart, trying to plug the wound.

However, it could seal the crack on the surface of its heart, but not the gaps within.

This made it even more frantic. Instinctively, it pushed the tentacles into its heart, trying to plug every tiny wound, but in the silence, it instead forced the heart's injuries open and tore them apart.

From Ning Xiuyuan's vantage point, the loss-of-control entity was frantically digging at its own heart, sending great splashes of scarlet blood cascading down!

They quickly dyed half the street red.

"Thud!"

It should have been able to hold on for another dozen seconds, but after only three breaths, it crashed to the ground and lay still.

Until death arrived, its tentacles remained tangled around the shattered heart, as though guarding the most precious treasure in the world.

"Heh—"

The corners of Ning Xiuyuan's mouth split open in a silent sneer.

The supernatural characteristics absorbed by the loss-of-control entity surged into his body in some unknown manner, like birds returning to the forest.

Some of them once again fused with his self.

But the pleasure of fusing with supernatural characteristics was far inferior to the relief of escaping death.

Ning Xiuyuan was like a fish stranded on shore, greedily and desperately drawing breath.

The dawn shining through the alleyway's gaps rose higher and higher, growing more and more dazzling, yet Ning Xiuyuan could not bear to close his eyes.

Through a crack in the mortal world, he greedily admired the magnificent sunrise of the divine kingdom.

It was the first time he had realized that sunrise was so damn spectacular!

Rings of light bloomed in his eyes, growing ever brighter before finally turning from white to black and becoming an endless curtain of darkness that swallowed his wavering consciousness.

The deep exhaustion and the loss-of-control entity's extraction finally made it impossible for him to hold on any longer, and he passed out.

Only two breaths after Ning Xiuyuan passed out, a bronze beast-headed gate rose from the earth.

With a clang, the heavy doors slowly opened, and all kinds of indescribable howls and roars beyond human sight and hearing immediately rang out from within!

They were the sobs of ghosts, the roars of evil spirits, the wails of those who had died unjustly, and the cries of departed souls.

The sounds grew louder as they approached, terrifying enough to accelerate one's heartbeat, as though the indescribable monsters might burst through the doors at any moment.

"Tap!"

First, a gleaming leather shoe stepped over the bronze threshold. Then a red-robed figure emerged. As the last boot crossed the threshold, a skeletal hand suddenly seized his ankle.

The owner of the foot impatiently shook it, but the skeletal hand refused to let go.

"Clang!"

Unexpectedly, the bronze gate slammed shut, sealing away the endless resentment. Only the severed skeletal hand remained awkwardly behind in the divine kingdom.

The newcomer was none other than the gentle and refined Bishop Byron!

He paid no attention to the skeletal hand at his feet. His gaze swept across the entire scene—taking a shortcut through Hell, countless evil souls should not have been enough to cause the slightest change in his expression, yet now his face suddenly turned solemn!

"Pop!"

A ghost emerged from the ground, its illusory body rapidly solidifying into flesh. It was none other than Deacon Harry!

Another figure quietly emerged in the air. He had arrived by leaping through a dream and was none other than Dean Weilder, who lived in seclusion at the monastery and was over sixty years old.

As the three appeared one after another, more and more priests and nuns arrived!

In fact, at this moment, more than half of the supernatural beings in Francis Diocese had been roused.

The furious roar of a loss-of-control entity containing four supernatural characteristics and hovering on the brink of death was simply too shocking!

That mental shockwave, like a tiger roaring through the mountains and forests, directly informed every supernatural being in the city that a Five-Ring loss of control had appeared here.

If it was not handled properly, the entire city could be destroyed.

However, just as everyone prepared for a desperate battle, the scene before them struck them as though they had been hit by lightning!

Outside an iron four-wheeled carriage, a loss-of-control entity swollen to the size of a giant lay collapsed on the ground. Countless tentacles densely sprouted from the octopus-like head perched on its shoulders, clustering over its chest.

It looked as though it had torn out its own heart and lungs;

or was protecting a precious treasure.

The earth around it was scarlet. The blood splashed across it possessed a cruel beauty, making it clear that a fierce battle had taken place.

Not far from the giant loss-of-control entity, a withered human skin still wearing clothes lay on the bluestone street, horrifying to behold.

Most chilling of all, there were also two withered human skins on the carriage.

One lay inside the carriage;

the other had half its body inside and half outside. Judging by the scene, it had clearly been undergoing some kind of transformation when it was forcibly interrupted while passing through the carriage.

What attracted everyone's attention most was Arthur, the foreigner lying not far from the giant loss-of-control entity!

He was the only complete person at the scene.

Where he lay, a long trail of blood stretched from his feet far down the street.

"Orlando, Payne, Atley, Wright..."

Bishop Byron called out the names one by one, a trace of sorrow flashing across his gentle face.

As a supernatural being, he had witnessed countless cases of loss of control and had even personally killed comrades who had lost control. But familiarity had not made him hard-hearted. Instead, it made him even more sorrowful.

Because he knew how much heartbreak and despair lay behind each of those names.

And that was indeed the case.

The supernatural beings who had rushed over soon recognized the skins and the loss-of-control entity by their clothing.

Shock, pain, dejection, collapse, and disbelief rapidly spread throughout the scene.

"That's... Orlando? How could this happen? He told me just last time that he was nearly finished fusing with his supernatural characteristics. How could he have lost control?"

"That isn't Payne! It can't be Payne. We only saw each other last night. I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"

"I saw Atley just yesterday morning. We even talked about the Dreamlands. He said he'd take me there when he had time. How did he suddenly... die?!"

The clergy of the Church of Dawn were mostly orphans and the children of devout believers. They had been raised together in monasteries from a young age, and their faith and loyalty were unparalleled.

They also shared deep bonds with one another.

Now that they had suddenly witnessed the deaths of their companions—and four had fallen at once—many could not accept it. Their emotions were so violently shaken that faint signs of loss of control even began to appear.

"Your Excellency the Bishop, Arthur is still alive!"

At that moment, an exclamation interrupted everyone's discussion.

Countless incredulous gazes turned in unison.

A priest had turned Arthur over so that his face was upward. Although Arthur looked like a corpse, the slight rise and fall of his chest still showed that he was alive.

However, this sole survivor did not bring anyone joy. Instead, he aroused burning hatred and incomprehension.

"What? He's still alive? Payne, Atley, and Wright are all dead. How did he survive?"

"With injuries like that, an ordinary person would have lost control long ago, wouldn't they? Could he be pretending?"

"Why is he the only one alive? What has he done to deserve surviving? Unless he was the one who caused all this."

"Hmph, he was the first to discover Lynn's loss of control. Now four people are dead, and it was another case of loss of control. If there's nothing suspicious about this, I'll be the first not to believe it! I think this may all have been his doing."

"Damn foreigner. I knew he was the source of disaster."

"Your Excellency the Bishop, I request permission to participate in the investigation!"

The murmurs gradually spread across the entire scene, no longer concealed in the slightest!

Being the sole survivor had already made people suspicious;

being a foreigner made people instinctively wary;

most importantly, the loss-of-control entity containing four supernatural characteristics had died, while he had survived nearby. The extreme irrationality and contrast were enough to make even the most rational person turn a suspicious gaze toward him.

Facing the enraged church members, Bishop Byron drew a deep breath and ordered:

"Deacon Harry, notify the police to seal off the area on the spot. At the same time, form an investigation team and uncover the truth as quickly as possible, so we can give everyone an explanation!"

"Yes!"

Deacon Harry replied in a deep voice. His gaze swept over Arthur, who had fallen unconscious, and a strange glint flashed through his eyes.